With the start of the First World War, all Football League football was cancelled; in its place were formed War Leagues, based on geographical lines rather than based on previous league placement. Manchester City contested the Lancashire Section in the Principal Tournament, and the Southern Division of the Lancashire Section in the Subsidiary Tournament. However, none of these were considered to be competitive football, and thus their records are not recognised by the Football League.

1.
Manchester City F.C.
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Manchester City Football Club is a football club in Manchester, England. Founded in 1880 as St. Marks, they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887, the club moved to the City of Manchester Stadium in 2003, having played at Maine Road since 1923. After losing the 1981 FA Cup Final, the club went through a period of decline, having regained their Premier League status in the early 2000s, the club was purchased in 2008 by Abu Dhabi United Group and has become one of the wealthiest in the world. Since 2011 the club have won five major honours, including the Premier League in 2012 and 2014, by 2014–15, Manchester City had the sixth-highest revenue in the footballing world with an annual revenue of €463.5 million. In 2016, Forbes magazine estimated they were the sixth most valuable football club. City gained their first honours by winning the Second Division in 1899, with it promotion to the highest level in English football. A fire at Hyde Road destroyed the main stand in 1920, in the 1930s, Manchester City reached two consecutive FA Cup finals, losing to Everton in 1933, before claiming the Cup by beating Portsmouth in 1934. The club won the First Division title for the first time in 1937, after relegation to the Second Division in 1963, the future looked bleak with a record low home attendance of 8,015 against Swindon Town in January 1965. In the summer of 1965, the management team of Joe Mercer, in the first season under Mercer, City won the Second Division title and made important signings in Mike Summerbee and Colin Bell. Further trophies followed, City won the FA Cup in 1969, before achieving European success by winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1970, beating Górnik Zabrze 2–1 in Vienna. City also won the League Cup that season, becoming the second English team to win a European trophy, the club continued to challenge for honours throughout the 1970s, finishing one point behind the league champions on two occasions and reaching the final of the 1974 League Cup. Former United player Denis Law scored with a backheel to give City a 1–0 win at Old Trafford, the final trophy of the clubs most successful period was won in 1976, when Newcastle United were beaten 2–1 in the League Cup final. A long period of decline followed the success of the 1960s and 1970s, Malcolm Allison rejoined the club to become manager for the second time in 1979, but squandered large sums of money on unsuccessful signings, such as Steve Daley. A succession of managers then followed – seven in the 1980s alone, under John Bond, City reached the 1981 FA Cup final but lost in a replay to Tottenham Hotspur. The club were relegated from the top flight in the 1980s. However, this was only a respite, and following Reids departure Manchester Citys fortunes continued to fade. City were co-founders of the Premier League upon its creation in 1992, after two seasons in Division One, City fell to the lowest point in their history, becoming the second ever European trophy winners to be relegated to their countrys third league tier, after 1. After relegation, the club underwent off-the-field upheaval, with new chairman David Bernstein introducing greater fiscal discipline, under manager Joe Royle, City were promoted at the first attempt, achieved in dramatic fashion in a play-off against Gillingham

2.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years

3.
Ernest Mangnall
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Born in Bolton, Lancashire, Mangnall played amateur football as a goalkeeper and was a director at Bolton Wanderers. He started his career in management with Burnley in March 1900. The side were struggling when he joined the club, and with just one month of the 1899–1900 season remaining and their relegation was confirmed on 28 April 1900 after a 0–4 defeat away at Nottingham Forest. He signed three players, Henry Collins, Jimmy Lindsay and George Lockhart, in the close season, the team achieved a third-placed finish in their first season in the Second Division and finished ninth the following year. The teams fortunes suffered a decline in the 1902–03 season. Burnley were re-elected and Mangnall started the campaign as manager. He was hired as the secretary of Manchester United and the second after the club changed its name from Newton Heath. He was to become the first successful manager, who brought a trophy to the club. With the two First Division titles, one FA Cup, and two Charity Shield trophies, he remains the third most successful manager at the club. He started his management at Manchester United in 1903 and saw his team narrowly miss promotion in his first two seasons before success at the third attempt, in the first season in the First Division the club finished in mid-table. However, in only their season in the First Division. The following year saw United drop below mid-table but the club won its first FA Cup with a 1–0 victory in the final against Bristol City, the following season saw no new silverware but the team improved its league position to fifth. The next season was his last in charge at the club, Mangnall moved to Manchester City directly from United. His last game in charge of the Reds was the Manchester derby of September 1912 against City when it was known he would become City manager. The Blues won 1–0 at Old Trafford and the focused on Mangnalls delight. His best season with the club was 1920–21, when City would finish runners up in the First Division, Mangnalls place in Mancunian football is significant as many believe he was the instigator behind Uniteds move to Old Trafford and Citys move to Maine Road

4.
Horace Barnes
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Horace Barnes was an English footballer, who played for Derby County, Manchester City, Preston North End and Oldham Athletic. Horace Barnes was born in Sheffield in 1890 and he began his football career playing as an inside left for Wadsley Bridge. In 1908 Jimmy Methven signed Horace for Derby County, Barnes made 153 appearances for Derby and scored 74 goals. In 1914 Manchester City purchased Barnes for £2,500.00, in his first season with the Manchester team he made 25 league appearances and scored 12 goals, helping the team to fifth in the first division, three points behind champions Everton. Barnes first goal for City came in a 4–1 victory against Bradford City on the day of the season. Barnes career was interrupted by the first world war which he spent working in a munition factory and he was able to resume his footballing career in the 1919–1920 football season in which he was Citys top scorer with 22 goals. City finished seventh in the league that season, in the 1920–1921 football season he was Citys second top scorer having scored 17 goals in 41 league appearances. Tommy Browell was the teams highest scorer with 31 goals, Manchester City came second in the league that season,5 points behind champions Burnley. This was Citys highest position in the league since the 1903–1904 football season when City had a team which included Billie Gillespie, Frank Booth and Billy Meredith. In the following season, the 1921–1922 football season, Billy Meredith returned to Manchester City to play in a line which included Barnes, Tommy Browell. Barnes scored 20 league goals that season, one less than Citys top scorer Tommy Browell. The team finished tenth in the league, in the 1922–1923 football season the City team was further enhanced by the acquisition of Frank Roberts from Bolton Wanderers. Barnes was Citys top scorer in season and the team finished eighth in the league. Three of Barnes goals came in a 5–1 victory against Cardiff City, Tommy Johnson scored the other goal for City. The team ultimately finished eleventh in the league on 42 points, Barnes played in 7 of Citys 8 games in the FA Cup that season. The team were defeated in the semi final by Newcastle United by two goals to nil. The 1924–1925 football season was to be Barnes last with Manchester City and he played 14 teams that season and scored 8 goals. Frank Roberts was the top scorer that season with 31 goals

5.
Everton F.C.
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Everton F. C. /ˈɛvərtən/ is a football club in Liverpool, England, that currently competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club have competed in the top division for a record 114 seasons and won the League Championship nine times, formed in 1878, Everton were founding members of The Football League in 1888 and won their first League Championship two seasons later. The mid-1980s represented their most recent period of sustained success, with two League Championships, an FA Cup, and the 1985 European Cup Winners Cup, the clubs most recent major trophy was the 1995 FA Cup. The clubs supporters are known as Evertonians, Everton have a rivalry with neighbours Liverpool, and the two sides contest the Merseyside derby. The club have been based at Goodison Park in Walton, Liverpool, since 1892, the clubs home colours are royal blue shirts with white shorts and socks. Everton were founded as St Domingos in 1878 so that people from the parish of St Domingos Methodist Church Everton could play year round — cricket was played in summer. The clubs first game was a 1–0 victory over Everton Church Club, the club was renamed Everton in November 1879 after the local area, as people outside the parish wished to participate. The club was a member of the Football League in 1888–89. Everton won the FA Cup for the first time in 1906, the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 interrupted the football programme while Everton were champions, which was something that would again occur in 1939. It was not until 1927 that Evertons first sustained period of success began, in 1925 the club signed Dixie Dean from Tranmere Rovers. In 1927–28, Dean set the record for league goals in a single season with 60 goals in 39 league games. He helped Everton win their third League Championship that season, however, Everton were relegated to the Second Division two years later during internal turmoil at the club. The club quickly rebounded and was promoted at the first attempt, on return to the top flight in 1931–32, Everton wasted no time in reaffirming their status and won a fourth League Championship at the first opportunity. Everton also won their second FA Cup in 1933 with a 3–0 win against Manchester City in the final, the era ended in 1938–39 with a fifth League Championship. Everton were relegated for the time in 1950–51 and did not earn promotion until 1953–54. The club have been a top-flight presence ever since, Evertons second successful era started when Harry Catterick was made manager in 1961. In 1962–63, his season in charge, Everton won the League Championship. In 1966 the club won the FA Cup with a 3–2 win over Sheffield Wednesday, Everton again reached the final in 1968, but this time were unable to overcome West Bromwich Albion at Wembley

6.
Liverpool F.C.
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Liverpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, the club has won 5 European Cups,3 UEFA Cups,3 UEFA Super Cups,18 League titles,7 FA Cups, a record 8 League Cups, and 15 FA Community Shields. The club was founded in 1892 and joined the Football League the following year, the club has played at Anfield since its formation. The club holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably the North West Derby against Manchester United, the clubs supporters have been involved in two major tragedies. The second was the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, where 96 Liverpool supporters died in a crush against perimeter fencing, the team changed from red shirts and white shorts to an all-red home strip in 1964 which has been used ever since. The clubs anthem is Youll Never Walk Alone, Liverpool F. C. was founded following a dispute between the Everton committee and John Houlding, club president and owner of the land at Anfield. After eight years at the stadium, Everton relocated to Goodison Park in 1892, the team won the Lancashire League in its début season, and joined the Football League Second Division at the start of the 1893–94 season. After finishing in first place the club was promoted to the First Division, Liverpool reached its first FA Cup Final in 1914, losing 1–0 to Burnley. Liverpool suffered its second Cup Final defeat in 1950, playing against Arsenal, the club was relegated to the Second Division in the 1953–54 season. Soon after Liverpool lost 2–1 to non-league Worcester City in the 1958–59 FA Cup, the club was promoted back into the First Division in 1962 and won it in 1964, for the first time in 17 years. In 1965, the club won its first FA Cup, in 1966, the club won the First Division but lost to Borussia Dortmund in the European Cup Winners Cup final. Liverpool won both the League and the UEFA Cup during the 1972–73 season, and the FA Cup again a year later, Shankly retired soon afterwards and was replaced by his assistant, Bob Paisley. In 1976, Paisleys second season as manager, the club won another League, the following season, the club retained the League title and won the European Cup for the first time, but it lost in the 1977 FA Cup Final. Liverpool retained the European Cup in 1978 and regained the First Division title in 1979, Paisley retired in 1983 and was replaced by his assistant, Joe Fagan. Liverpool won the League, League Cup and European Cup in Fagans first season, Liverpool reached the European Cup final again in 1985, against Juventus at the Heysel Stadium. Before kick-off, Liverpool fans breached a fence separated the two groups of supporters, and charged the Juventus fans. The resulting weight of people caused a wall to collapse, killing 39 fans. The incident became known as the Heysel Stadium disaster, the match was played in spite of protests by both managers, and Liverpool lost 1–0 to Juventus

7.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany

8.
English Football League
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The English Football League is a league competition featuring professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in world football and it was the top-level football league in England from its foundation in the 19th century until 1992, when the top 22 clubs split away to form the Premier League. The league has 72 clubs evenly divided into three divisions, which are known as the Championship, League One and League Two, with 24 clubs in each division, the Football League has been associated with a title sponsor between 1983 and 2016. As this sponsor changed over the years the league too has been known by various names, the English Football League is also the name of the governing body of the league competition, and this body also organises two knock-out cup competitions, the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy. The operations centre of the Football League is in Preston, while its commercial office is in London, the commercial office was formerly based in Lytham St Annes, after its original spell in Preston. The Football League consists of 70 professional association football clubs in England and 2 in Wales and it runs the oldest professional football league competition in the world. It also organises two knockout cup competitions, the Football League Cup and Football League Trophy, the Football League was founded in 1888 by then Aston Villa director William McGregor, originally with 12 member clubs. Steady growth and the addition of more divisions meant that by 1950 the League had 92 clubs, the Football League therefore no longer includes the top 20 clubs who belong to this group, although promotion and relegation between the Football League and the Premier League continues. In total,136 teams have played in the Football League up to 2013, the Football Leagues 72 member clubs are grouped into three divisions, the Football League Championship, Football League One, and Football League Two. Each division has 24 clubs, and in any season a club plays each of the others in the same division twice, once at their home stadium. This makes for a total of 46 games played each season, clubs gain three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a defeat. At the end of the season, clubs at the top of their division may win promotion to the higher division. At the top end of the competition, three Championship clubs win promotion from the Football League to the Premier League, with the bottom three Premier League clubs taking their places, reserve teams of Football League clubs usually play in the Central League or the Football Combination. Since the 2004–05 season, penalties have existed for clubs entering financial administration during the season and it is also required that a club exiting administration agree a Creditors Voluntary Agreement, and pay in full any other footballing creditors. Failure to do either of these result in a second. The other main situation in which is a club may lose points is by fielding an improperly registered or otherwise ineligible player. If a club is found to have done this, then any points earned from any match that player participated in will be deducted, the EFL organises two knock-out cup competitions, the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy. The EFL Cup was established in 1960 and is open to all EFL and Premier League clubs, the EFL Trophy is for clubs belonging to EFL League One and EFL League Two

9.
Burnley F.C.
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Burnley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed The Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, Burnley have been Football League Champions twice, in 1920–21 and 1959–60, have won the FA Cup once, in 1914, and have won the Community Shield twice, in 1960 and 1973. The Clarets also reached the 1961 quarter-finals of the European Cup and they are one of only three teams to have won all top four professional divisions of English football, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Preston North End. The club colours of claret and blue were adopted in 1910 in tribute to the dominant club of English football at the time and their home ground since 1883 has been Turf Moor and their current manager is Sean Dyche. During May 1882, Burnley Rovers Football Club decided to shift their allegiance from rugby union to football, in 1883 the club moved to Turf Moor and remain there, only their Lancashire rivals Preston North End having occupied the same ground continuously for longer. Burnley first appeared in the FA Cup in 1885–86 but were ignominiously beaten 11–0 when eligibility restrictions meant that their side had to be fielded against Darwen. On 13 October 1886, Turf Moor became the first ground to be visited by a member of a Royal Family, when it was decided to found the Football League for the 1888–89 season, Burnley were among the 12 founders of that competition. William Tait of Burnley scored the first ever hat-trick in League football and that season did, however, present Burnley with their first honours, winning the Lancashire Cup with a 2–0 final victory over Blackburn Rovers. Before Burnley won a trophy again, they were relegated to the Second Division in 1896–97 and they responded to this by winning promotion the next season, losing only 2 of their 30 matches along the way before gaining promotion through a play-off series then known as Test Matches. Burnley and Stoke City both entered the last match, to be played between the two teams, needing a draw for promotion. A 0–0 draw ensued, reportedly The Match without a shot at goal, Burnley needed a win against Forest in the last match of the season to escape relegation. This is the earliest recorded case of match fixing in football, Burnley changed their colours from green to the claret and sky blue of Aston Villa, the most successful club in England at the time, for the 1910–11 season. The 1912–13 season saw them win promotion to the First Division once more, as well as reaching the FA Cup semi-final, only to lose to Sunderland. The next season was one of consolidation in the top flight, but more importantly their first major honour and this cup final was historic in that King George V became the first reigning monarch to present the cup to the winning captain. The winning Burnley team also got special medals with English Cup Winners written on it instead of the usual FA Cup Winners inscription. World War I impacted the 1914–15 season, in which Burnley finished 4th in the First Division, before English football reorganised itself, Burnley struggled in English footballs second tier, narrowly avoiding a further relegation in 1931–32 by only two points. The years through to the outbreak of the Second World War were characterised by uninspiring league finishes, broken only by an FA Cup semi-final appearance in 1934–35 and the arrival of Tommy Lawton. Burnley participated in the football leagues that continued throughout the war

10.
Blackpool F.C.
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Blackpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in the seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. For the 2016–17 season, they are competing in League Two, founded in 1887, Blackpools home ground has been Bloomfield Road since 1901. Their main nickname is the Seasiders, but they are called the Pool and the Tangerines, the latter in reference to the colour of their home kit. Blackpools least successful period was in the 1980s, particularly when, in the 1982–83 season, they finished 21st in English League footballs lowest tier, the clubs motto is Progress, as featured on the club crest. Blackpool have a rivalry with Preston North End, and matches between the two clubs are known as the West Lancashire derby. They have not met in a match since February 2010. Football had developed in Blackpool by 1877 when Victoria F. C. were founded as a club with a ground in Caunce Street. This team disbanded a few years later but some of its members are understood to have merged with old boys from St Johns School to form a new club called Blackpool St Johns. The new club managed to win two pieces of silverware in its first season in existence, 1887–88, the Fylde Cup, at the conclusion of the following 1888–89 season, Blackpool became founder members of the Lancashire League. In their first season in the competition, the club finished out of the 13 member clubs. They finished as runners-up over the three seasons, before winning the championship themselves on their fourth attempt. Blackpools home at that point in time was Raikes Hall, which was part of an entertainment complex that included a theatre. This meant that the average attendances were around the 2000 mark. Their application was successful, and for the debut season, 1896–97. Blackpools first-ever Football League game took place on 5 September 1896, at Lincoln City, for the 1897–98 campaign, the club played their home games at the Athletic Grounds. They remained there for the first seven games of 1898–99. After finishing third-bottom, the club were not re-elected at the end of the 1898–99 season and they finished third, and after the Football Leagues annual meeting, on 25 May 1900, were permitted back into Division Two. It was during this season out of the League that Blackpool amalgamated with local rivals South Shore, during the 10 seasons that followed, Blackpool could finish no higher than 12th place

11.
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
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Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The team compete in League One, the tier of English football. The history of Oldham Athletic A. F. C. begins with the founding of Pine Villa F. C. in 1895, playing in the Manchester and Lancashire leagues. When rivals Oldham County F. C. folded in 1899, Pine Villa F. C. moved into their stadium and they were Football League runners-up in the 1914–15 season but were relegated from the Football League First Division in 1923. They reached the 1990 Football League Cup Final and won the Football League Second Division title in 1991 and they secured their top division status a year later to become founder members of the new Premier League but were relegated in 1994. After a period of insolvency in 2003–04, the club was taken over by a group of US-based expatriate British businessmen led by Simon Blitz, Pine Villa Football Club was formed in 1895, though the club changed its appearance and name in 1899 to Oldham Athletic Football Club. The club immediately gained professional status and played in both the Lancashire Combination and Lancashire League, unlike many clubs, Oldham Athletic gained quick success and gained acceptance into the Football League in 1907–08. After three years in the Second Division, Latics gained promotion to the First Division, within a couple of seasons, Oldham had announced themselves serious contenders, finishing 4th in the league in 1912–13, and reaching the F. A. Cup semi-finals the same season, losing out 1–0 versus Aston Villa, in 1914–15, Latics reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup but were knocked out once again after a 0–3 replay against Sheffield United. In the league season they almost won it all, Latics lost the league by one point. Latics early success was halted by the First World War. Many of the players from their former squads had either retired from football or had killed in the war. Their highest success came in the 1929–30 season as finished in 3rd. From then on they slowly but surely fell down the league table and they found life in this new division much more to their liking, coming 7th in their first season and following this with three seasons in the top five. Promotion back to the Second Division looked like it might just be a possibility, players contracts were terminated, and relying largely on guest players, the club was to play in the war-time Northern League until August 1946. Following the return of football there was to be no immediate success for Oldham Athletic. They finished 19th in the first league season after the war, Hardwicks appointment came at a cost, with a £15,000 transfer fee paid to Middlesbrough. In Hardwicks first full season in charge they finished 4th after topping the table for a considerable time, eric Gemmell scored seven of these to establish an individual club record for one game which still stands to date

12.
Stockport County F.C.
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Stockport County Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, the team adopted their name in 1890 after the County Borough of Stockport and they have played at Edgeley Park since 1902, traditionally in blue and white, and are nicknamed The Hatters after the towns former hat-making industry. Stockport County joined the Football League in 1900 and competed in it continuously from 1905 to 2011, however, instability on and off the pitch eventually led to Stockport falling back to the lower divisions. The club started the 2011–12 season in the Conference National, having been relegated from Football League Two for the first time in their history at the end of 2010–11, at the end of 2012–13, Stockport were relegated to the Conference North. Stockport County was formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers by members of the Wycliffe Congregational Church, the club adopted The Hatters as their nickname, owing to Stockports history as the centre of the Victorian hat-making industry, a nickname that is shared with Luton Town. Stockport played in the Lancashire League until 1900, when they gained admission to the Football League Second Division, Stockports first Football League match was against Leicester Fosse which ended in a 2–2 draw. Stockport left their Green Lane home in 1902 and moved to Edgeley Park where they currently reside, the club finished in the bottom three for their first four seasons, and at the end of 1903–04 they failed to gain re-election. They spent one year in the Lancashire Combination and the Midland League, at the end of the season, they were re-admitted to the Football League after being re-elected through the Midland League. In their first season back in the Football League, Stockport reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, however, Stockport finished the league in 10th position that season. Stockport remained in Division 2 of the Football League for seven years until 1912–13 when they again had to seek re-election, Stockport gained 22 votes and was therefore re-elected. Albert Williams was presented with the seven days later before the home game with Lincoln City. This title win began a remarkable coincidence which has occurred in each of Stockports title winning seasons where Lincoln City have been the last opponents in each of those seasons. Joe OKane, who joined Stockport the previous season, was a factor in the clubs promotion although he left the club at the end of the season. Once Stockport returned to Division 2, they struggled and survived an automatic relegation by one point, the 1923–24 season saw Stockport County finish 13th, one place above Manchester United. This is the time in history Stockport has achieved better than Manchester United. During this campaign Stockport goalkeeper Harry Hardy was called up to play for the England national team and he is the only player to be capped at full level by England while on Stockports books. Two seasons later Stockport returned to the division after finishing bottom of the league. Stockport closed out the 1920s in Division Three North with a 3rd-placed finish in 1927–28, Joe Smith was Stockports and the divisions leading goalscorer in this particular season contributing to 38 of Stockports 89 goals

13.
Hyde Road (stadium)
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Hyde Road was a football stadium in West Gorton, Manchester, England. It was home to Manchester City F. C. and their predecessors from its construction in 1887 until 1923 and it was named after Hyde Road, a road which begins at the east end of Ardwick Green South in Ardwick and runs east towards Hyde. At the boundary between Gorton and Audenshaw it continues as Manchester Road, before its use as a football ground, the site was an area of waste ground, and in its early days the ground had only rudimentary facilities. The first stand was built in 1888, but the ground had no changing facilities until 1896, players had to change in a public house. By 1904 the ground had developed into a 40, 000-capacity venue, the stands and terraces were arranged in a haphazard manner due to space constraints, and by 1920 the club had outgrown the cramped venue. A decision to seek an alternative venue was hastened in November 1920, Manchester City moved to the 80, 000-capacity Maine Road in 1923, and Hyde Road was demolished shortly afterward. One structure from the ground is still in use in the 21st century, a section of roofing which was sold for use at The Shay, three further pitches were then created on wasteland over the following four seasons, but all proved inadequate for one reason or another. Then-captain Kenneth McKenzie discovered an area of ground on Hyde Road in Ardwick and near to his place of work. Lawrence Furniss, the secretary, ascertained that the ground was owned by the Manchester, Sheffield. A few weeks later, using materials provided by the nearby Galloway engineering works, the ground had no changing rooms, and teams changed in a nearby public house, the Hyde Road Hotel, where the football club held business meetings. The grounds first seating area was built in 1888, with 1,000 seats, Ardwick were admitted to the Football League in 1892. The first league match held at Hyde Road was a 7–0 Ardwick win against Bootle on 3 September 1892, two years later the club reformed as Manchester City F. C. The increasing popularity of the club resulted in improvements being made to the ground on several occasions. Improvements costing £600 were made in 1890, and changing rooms were provided in 1896. A new stand was purchased for £1,500 in 1898, in 1910 multi-span roofing was built on the three previously uncovered sides of the ground, resulting in covered accommodation for 35,000 spectators. Even though improvements were made the ground suffered problems when hosting large crowds, due to surrounding streets. A reporter for the Manchester Football News summarised the access problems, The croft is a nightmare in wet weather, on occasion, further problems occurred inside the ground as well as outside. A1913 cup tie against Sunderland drew a crowd officially recorded as 41,709, an hour before kick-off the gates were closed, with many ticket-holders unable to gain admission

14.
Anfield
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Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, England which has a seating capacity of 54,074 making it the sixth largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F. C. since their formation in 1892 and it was originally the home of Everton F. C. from 1884 to 1891, before they moved to Goodison Park after a dispute with the club president. The stadium has four stands, the Spion Kop, Main Stand, Centenary Stand, the record attendance of 61,905, was set at a match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1952. The ground converted to a stadium in 1994 as a result of the Taylor Report which greatly reduced its capacity. Two gates at the ground are named after former Liverpool managers, Bill Shankly, a statue of Shankly is situated outside the stadium. The ground is 2 miles from Liverpool Lime Street railway station, construction for an extension to the Main Stand began on 8 December 2014. This extension increased the capacity to 54,074, making it one of the largest all-seater single stands in European football. There are future plans to expand the Anfield Road Stand which would bring the size to around 59,000. Opened in 1884, Anfield was originally owned by John Orrell, Everton, who previously played at Priory Road, were in need of a new venue owing to the noise produced by the crowd on match days. Orrell lent the pitch to the club in exchange for a small rent, the first match at the ground was between Everton and Earlestown on 28 September 1884, which Everton won 5–0. The ground was considered of international standard at the time, playing host to the British Home Championship match between England and Ireland in 1889. Anfields first league match was played on 8 September 1888, between Everton and Accrington F. C. Everton quickly improved as a team, and became Anfields first league champions in the 1890–91 season. In 1892, negotiations to purchase the land at Anfield from Orrell escalated into a dispute between Houlding and the Everton F. C. committee over how the club was run, events culminated in Evertons move to Goodison Park. Houlding was left with an empty stadium, and decided to form a new club to occupy it. The new team was called Liverpool F. C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd, Liverpools first Football League match at Anfield was played on 9 September 1893, against Lincoln City. Liverpool won 4–0 in front of 5,000 spectators, a new stand capable of holding 3,000 spectators was constructed in 1895 on the site of the present Main Stand. Designed by architect Archibald Leitch, the stand had a red and white gable. Another stand was constructed at the Anfield Road end in 1903, built from timber, after Liverpool had won their second League championship in 1906, a new stand was built along the Walton Breck Road

15.
Bury F.C.
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Bury Football Club is a professional association football club based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The team compete in League One, the tier of the English football league system. Bury have been members of the Football League since 1894 and have won the FA Cup twice, Gigg Lane has been their home ground since 1885. The club was formed in 1885 by Aiden Arrowsmith following a meeting at the White Horse Hotel, Gigg Lanes first ever game took place on 12 September 1885 when Bury played a friendly match against Wigan and won 4–3. In 1887 the first shed was built at Gigg Lane at a cost of £50, also in the same year Bury recorded their record defeat, Burys first ever floodlit game took place on 5 November 1889, when Bury were defeated 4–5 by Heywood Central. In 1892 Bury were Lancashire Challenge Cup Winners, before joining the Football League Second Division in 1894, Burys membership of the Football League from 1894 is now the 3rd longest ongoing run. Bury won the FA Cup on 21 April 1900 they beat Southampton 4–0 in the FA Cup final at Crystal Palace, in 1906 the South Stand was built at Gigg Lane. By 1922, the ground was finally handed over to the club from the Earl of Derby as a gift, in 1924 the Main Stand was built, during this period Burys ground was one of the best in the Football League. In 1923 Bury were promoted again, and in 1926 they achieved their highest League position ever, Two years later they were relegated and have never played top-flight football again. Steady decline following this relegation and by 1971, they had reached the Fourth Division, the clubs greatest benefactor was Hugh Eaves, a local benefactor under the stewardship of whom Bury were promoted to the second tier of English football following back to back promotions. In 1998–99, Bury were relegated from the second tier on goals scored, in 2001–02, the club was relegated to League Two following a spell in administration for financial irregularities. In May 2005, Bury became the first football club to score a thousand goals in each of the top four tiers of the English football league, in 2006, Bury became the first team to ever be thrown out of the FA Cup after fielding an ineligible player. After the FA Cup debacle, Bury failed to win in 16 games and they survived the relegation battle of the 2006–07 season, where a 0–0 draw with Stockport County ensured they would stay up to play another season in League Two. It was announced on 14 January 2008 that co-managers Chris Casper and Keith Alexander had been sacked, a club statement said the pair had lost the confidence of a large majority of the fans. Chris Brass, formerly the manager of the clubs Centre of Excellence, was given the vacant managers post on a caretaker basis and his first match in charge resulted in a cup upset, the Shakers knocking Norwich City out of the FA Cup in the third round. Despite this early success, results remained inconsistent, and a more full-time solution was sought by the board after Brass led Bury to a humiliating 5–1 home defeat to MK Dons, on 4 February 2008, Bury appointed Alan Knill as manager. In the play-off semi-final they were beaten on penalties by Shrewsbury Town, Bury finished the following season 9th, and partway through 2011–12 Knill and Assistant Manager Chris Brass left the club to take over at Scunthorpe United. Youth Team Manager Richie Barker took over as manager and lead the Shakers to promotion

16.
Manchester United F.C.
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Manchester United Football Club is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Nicknamed the Red Devils, the club was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to its current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910. Manchester United have won a record 20 League Titles, a joint-record 12 FA Cups,5 League Cups, the club has also won three European Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. In 1998–99, the became the first in the history of English football to achieve the treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup. The 1958 Munich air disaster claimed the lives of eight players, in 1968, under the management of Matt Busby, Manchester United became the first English football club to win the European Cup. Alex Ferguson won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles,5 FA Cups and 2 UEFA Champions Leagues, José Mourinho is the clubs current manager, having been appointed on 27 May 2016. As of June 2015, it is the worlds most valuable football brand and it is one of the most widely supported football teams in the world. In August 2012, Manchester United made a public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. The club holds several rivalries, most notably with Liverpool, Manchester City and Leeds United, Manchester United was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. By 1888, the club had become a member of The Combination. Following the leagues dissolution after only one season, Newton Heath joined the newly formed Football Alliance and this resulted in the club starting the 1892–93 season in the First Division, by which time it had become independent of the railway company and dropped the LYR from its name. After two seasons, the club was relegated to the Second Division, in January 1902, with debts of £2,670 – equivalent to £260,000 in 2017 – the club was served with a winding-up order. The following season began with victory in the first ever Charity Shield, Manchester United won the First Division for the second time in 1911, but at the end of the following season, Mangnall left the club to join Manchester City. In 1922, three years after the resumption of football following the First World War, the club was relegated to the Second Division, relegated again in 1931, Manchester United became a yo-yo club, achieving its all-time lowest position of 20th place in the Second Division in 1934. Gibson, who, in December 1931, invested £2,000, in the 1938–39 season, the last year of football before the Second World War, the club finished 14th in the First Division. Busby led the team to second-place league finishes in 1947,1948 and 1949, in 1952, the club won the First Division, its first league title for 41 years. With an average age of 22, the title winning side of 1956 were labelled the Busby Babes by the media. In 1957, Manchester United became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, despite objections from The Football League, who had denied Chelsea the same opportunity the previous season

17.
Old Trafford
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Old Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. It is about 0.5 miles from Old Trafford Cricket Ground, future expansion is likely to involve the addition of a second tier to the South Stand, which would raise the capacity to around 95,000. The stadiums record attendance was recorded in 1939, when 76,962 spectators watched the FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town and it also hosted football matches at the 2012 Summer Olympics, including womens international football for the first time in its history. Before 1902, Manchester United were known as Newton Heath, during time they first played their football matches at North Road. However, both grounds were blighted by wretched conditions, the pitches ranging from gravel to marsh, while Bank Street suffered from clouds of fumes from its neighbouring factories. Including the purchase of the land, the construction of the stadium was originally to have cost £60,000 all told. The subsidy would have come to the sum of £10,000, however, despite guarantees for the loan coming from the club itself and two local breweries, both chaired by club chairman John Henry Davies, the Cheshire Lines Committee turned the proposal down. The CLC had planned to build a new station adjacent to the new stadium, the station – Trafford Park – was eventually built, but further down the line than originally planned. The CLC later constructed a modest station with one timber-built platform immediately adjacent to the stadium and it was initially named United Football Ground, but was renamed Old Trafford Football Ground in early 1936. It was served on match days only by a service of steam trains from Manchester Central railway station. It is currently known as Manchester United Football Ground, construction was carried out by Messrs Brameld and Smith of Manchester and development was completed in late 1909. The stadium hosted its game on 19 February 1910, with United playing host to Liverpool. However, the side were unable to provide their fans with a win to mark the occasion. A journalist at the game reported the stadium as the most handsomest, the most spacious, as a football ground it is unrivalled in the world, it is an honour to Manchester and the home of a team who can do wonders when they are so disposed. Before the construction of Wembley Stadium in 1923, the FA Cup Final was hosted by a number of different grounds around England including Old Trafford. The first of these was the 1911 FA Cup Final replay between Bradford City and Newcastle United, after the tie at Crystal Palace finished as a no-score draw after extra time. Bradford won 1–0, the goal scored by Jimmy Speirs, in a match watched by 58,000 people, the grounds second FA Cup Final was the 1915 final between Sheffield United and Chelsea. Sheffield United won the match 3–0 in front of nearly 50,000 spectators, most of whom were in the military, leading to the final being nicknamed the Khaki Cup Final

18.
Southport F.C.
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Southport Football Club are a professional association football club based in Blowick, Southport, Merseyside. The club participates in the National League, the tier of English football. From 1921 to 1978 they were a Football League club and they play their home matches at Haig Avenue, which has a capacity of 6,008. They are known by their nickname the Sandgrounders and it was on Thursday 12 November 1881 that Southport played its first association football match. Although association football was played in the private schools in the late 1870s the original Southport Football Club began as a rugby team. Southport Football Club arranged rugby fixtures for 1881–82, after some heavy defeats, the last recorded being on 15 October 1881, the club switched to association football. On 12 November, six of that lined up when Southport played Bootle second in their first match under Association Rules. Ralph Rylance did more than anyone to establish association football in the town and he came to Southport from Blackburn having played for the Blackburn Law team, a noted eleven in those days. Performances soon improved with him playing, and Tranmere Rovers were beaten twice whilst the Tradesman of Southport, on 7 October 1882, Southport entertained Liverpool Ramblers in their first ever F. A. or English Challenge Cup tie as the competition was called for years. The game was watched by 300 spectators and resulted in a 1–1 draw, in the 1884–85 season the club merged with the Southport Athletic Society and the team moved to the Sports Ground, Sussex Road. As football grew in popularity other clubs sprang up in the town, Southport Wanderers, High Park, Churchtown and Southport Old Boys were amongst the most prominent however Southport Football Club was considered to be the towns premier side. After 5 years existence Southports first football club folded, at least six former Southport players and many of their supporters transferred their affiliations to Southport Wanderers. Southport Wanderers moved to a new ground in Scarisbrick New Road for the 1886–87 season, on 28 September 1886, at a General Meeting held in the Mathers Saleroom, it was unanimously resolved that in future the club be called Southport Football Club. In the summer of 1888, the year the Football League was founded, with the increasing in popularity. The idea met with favour and the meeting called to form such a club took place on 12 June at Scarletts Rooms. At a second meeting, held at the Railway Hotel a week later, at the start of the 1905–06 season Central moved to its present home, Haig Avenue, which was then known as Ash Lane. In 1911, the club became members of the Central League. In 1918, the club was renamed as Southport Vulcan – having been bought by the Vulcan Motor Company – becoming the first club to take a sponsors name

19.
Haig Avenue
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Haig Avenue, known as Merseyrail Community Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Blowick, Southport, Merseyside, that holds 7,000 spectators, with 1,660 seated. Since being opened in 1905 it has been the ground of Southport. Southport currently play in the Conference National League, but have a history in the Football League. The ground is situated in Blowick, which is just inside the east boundary of Southport, just off the A570, the road to Ormskirk. It is sited at the edge of an area, adjoining school playing fields. These days the ground seldom operates at more than a full, although nearly full houses have been registered for key matches. Trophy semi-final against Slough Town which Southport won to reach their first ever Wembley final, the ground has a covered main stand, called the Grandstand, opposite an uncovered terrace, known as the Popular Side. Behind the goals, the end is covered, this is where the majority of the home fans congregate. The south stand is called the Jack Carr Stand, after a director at the club. The north away end is open to the elements, there are limited car parking facilities, however these are reserved for home, away and match officials. There is ample parking in local streets, Southport F. C. moved to what is now called Haig Avenue in 1905. The road the ground is situated on and the ground itself were officially renamed Haig Avenue after Earl Haig in 1921, the grandstand that now stands at Haig Avenue was opened in August 1968,2 years after the original main stand had burnt down. The wooden structure, which had purchased from the Southport Flower Show burnt down the day after a game against Wrexham on Boxing Day in 1966. Most of the clubs possessions including kits, went up in flames with only the club safe surviving, a temporary main stand was put up instead during the season Billy Binghams side won promotion to the third division. Eric Morecambe presented the club with a trophy to commemorate their achievement, in 1973, following his first Grand National victory, Red Rum was presented to the crowd at half time during a match against Lincoln City. Today there is open terracing at the Blowick away end and on the Popular side opposite the Main Stand, other local authorities have been very helpful to their football clubs. Being a holiday/leisure resort, the profile of Southport F. C. is important in the marketing of the town. Until 1974 Southport was a county borough in its own right, however, on 10 September 2012, it was announced that Merseyrail had agreed a sponsorship deal that would see Haig Avenue renamed the Merseyrail Community Stadium

20.
Goodison Park
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Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Premier League club Everton since its completion in 1892 and is one of the worlds oldest purpose-built football grounds, the stadium is built in a residential area served by regular rail and bus services two miles from Liverpool city centre. Goodison has undergone changes over the years and it presently has an all-seated capacity of 39,572. Everton fans refer to the stadium as The Grand Old Lady and it has hosted more top-flight games than any other stadium in England. Goodison has hosted the number of league games since the Premier League was formed in 1992. The club has only been outside the top division for four seasons, as well as hosting Everton games, the stadium has been the venue for an FA Cup Final and numerous international fixtures, including several in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. The record for the highest attendance in womens football in England was set at Goodison Park in 1920, which stood for 92 years until 31 July 2012. Everton originally played on a pitch in the south-east corner of the newly laid out Stanley Park. The first official match took place in 1879, in 1882, a Mr J. Cruit donated land at Priory Road with the necessary facilities required for professional clubs. Cruit asked the club to leave his land two years because the crowds became far too large and noisy. Everton moved to nearby Anfield Road, a site where proper covered stands were built, Everton played at the Anfield ground from 1884 until 1892. During this time the club turned professional and entered teams in the FA Cup and they became founding members of the Football League and won their first championship at the ground in 1890–91. Anfields capacity grew to over 20,000 and the club hosted a match between England and Ireland. During their time at Anfield, Everton became the first club to introduce goalnets to professional football, in the 1890s, a dispute about how the club was to be owned and run emerged with John Houlding, Anfields majority owner and Evertons Chairman, at the forefront. Houlding and the committee initially disagreed about the full purchase of the land at Anfield from minor land owner Mr Orrell escalating into a principled disagreement of how the club was run. Two such disagreements included Houlding wanting Everton to sell only his brewery produce during an event, the most famous of the disagreements concerns the level of increased rent Everton were asked to pay. In 1889, Everton paid £100 to Houlding in rent and by the 1889–90 season he was charging Everton £250, Everton had to pay for all work and stands. The dispute escalated to a rent of £370 per year being demanded, in the complicated lead up to the split in the club, the rent dispute is too simplistic to be singled out as the prime cause

21.
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
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Bolton Wanderers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Bolton, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in League One, the tier of the English football league system. The club was formed as Christ Church Football Club in 1874, founder members of the Football League in 1888, Bolton have spent the highest number of seasons of any club in the top flight without winning the title. The closest they have come to the title is third in the First Division on three occasions, as of 2015, the club has spent more seasons in the top division than any other club outside the current Premier League. Bolton were a successful cup side in the 1920s, winning the FA Cup three times, the club won the cup a fourth time in 1958. A leaner spell followed, reaching a nadir in 1987 when the club spent a season in the Fourth Division, the club regained top-flight status in 1995 after a 15-year absence. In a period of success, the club qualified for the UEFA Cup twice, reaching the last 32 in 2005–06. The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895, on 9 March 1946, The Burnden Park disaster occurred, which was a human crush in which 33 Bolton fans lost their lives. In 1997 it moved out of town to the Reebok Stadium, the stadium was renamed the Macron Stadium in July 2014, to reflect the clubs new deal with Italian sportswear company Macron. The club was founded by the Reverend Joseph Farrall Wright, Perpetual curate of Christ Church Bolton and Thomas Ogden, the schoolmaster at the adjacent church school in 1874 as Christ Church F. C. It was initially run from the church of the name on Deane Road. The club left the following a dispute with the vicar. The name was chosen as the club initially had a lot of difficulty finding a permanent ground to play on, Bolton were one of the 12 founder members of the Football League, which formed in 1888. At the time Lancashire was one of the strongest footballing regions in the country, having remained in the Football League since its formation, Bolton have spent more time in the top flight than out of it. In 1894 Bolton reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time, a decade later they were runners-up a second time, losing 1–0 to local rivals Manchester City at Crystal Palace on 23 April 1904. In this period Bolton equalled their record finish of third twice, in 1920–21 and 1924–25, on 28 April 1923, Bolton won their first major trophy in their third final, beating West Ham United 2–0 in the first ever Wembley FA Cup final. The match, famously known as The White Horse Final was played in front of over 127,000 supporters, boltons centre-forward, David Jack scored the first ever goal at Wembley Stadium. Driven by long-term players Joe Smith in attack, Ted Vizard and Billy Butler on the wings, in 1928 the club faced financial difficulties and so was forced to sell David Jack to Arsenal to raise funds

22.
Rochdale A.F.C.
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Rochdale Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. The team compete in League One, the tier in the English football league system. The clubs colours are black and blue and they play their games at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907 and nicknamed the Dale, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921, since then, the club has remained in the bottom two professional divisions of English Football. The team has achieved promotion three times – in 1969,2010 and 2014. Rochdale attract a small, but loyal fanbase, with a hardcore following of around 3000 home fans on average per match. Local fixtures however attract a higher turnout. The club reached the League Cup Final in 1962 and this was the first time a club from the bottom league division had reached the final of a major competition – where they lost to Norwich City. During its history, the club has had three promotions and three relegations, with coming in 1969 and 2010 and 2014 and relegation in 1959,1974 and 2012. The 1959 relegation followed the 1958 restructuring which saw the combination of the two Third Division sections into the Third Division and Fourth Division. In the restructuring, Rochdale managed to secure a spot in the Third Division, Rochdale A. F. C. was formed in 1907. After World War I the Football League was expanded and the club applied to join. In 1921 Rochdale was recommended to be included in the new Third Division North, however, this first season ended with the club at the bottom of the League, having to reapply for membership. In the early stages of the 1969–70 season, Rochdale topped the Division Three table, the teams form significantly declined around Christmas 1969, however, and a failure to halt the teams decline led to the dismissal of Richley. He was succeeded by Dick Conner, who stabilised the clubs form, the following three seasons saw the club finish in the lower reaches of the Division Three table, narrowly avoiding relegation each time. The board viewed merely surviving in Division Three as unacceptable and replaced Conner with Walter Joyce for the 1973–74 season and this move failed to pay off, and Rochdale was relegated after a campaign in which they won only 2 of 46 league games. The club finished bottom of the league in 1977–78, but was successful in their bid for re-election, southport, which had finished one place above Rochdale, was demoted instead and replaced by Wigan Athletic. Rochdale finished bottom for a time in 1979–80, but was again re-elected – by one vote over Altrincham

23.
Spotland Stadium
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Spotland Stadium is a sports venue located at Willbutts Lane in the Spotland area of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. It is currently home to Rochdale A. F. C. the ground has four stands, the Co-Operative Stand, the Thwaites Beer Stand, the T. D. S Stand and the Westrose Leisure Stand. All are fully seated, apart from the Sandy Lane End, renamed Spotland Stadium the Crown Oil Arena as part of a sponsorship deal by the Bury-based fuel company Crown Oil. Spotland Stadium was selected as a venue for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup hosting a match between Fiji and Ireland and this was the first time that Rochdale has staged an event in a World Cup in any sport. Rivals. net, Spotland Guide Your Guide to Spotland Rochdale A. F. C, Hornets Stadium Information Rugby League World Cup 2013 Official Website

24.
Stoke City F.C.
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Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, that plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863 the club changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and they are the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts County, and are one of the founding members of the Football League. Their first, and to date only major trophy, the League Cup was won in 1972, the clubs highest league finish in the top division is 4th, which was achieved in the 1935–36 and 1946–47 seasons. Stoke played in the FA Cup Final in 2011, finishing runners-up to Manchester City and have reached three FA Cup semi-finals, in 1899 then consecutively in 1971 and 1972. Stoke have competed in European football on three occasions, firstly in 1972–73 then in 1974–75 and most recently in 2011–12, the club has won the Football League Trophy twice, in 1992 and in 2000. Stokes home ground is the bet365 Stadium, a 28,116 all-seater stadium, before the stadium was opened in 1997, the club was based at the Victoria Ground, which had been their home ground since 1878. The clubs nickname is The Potters, named after the industry in Stoke-on-Trent and their traditional home kit is a red and white vertically striped shirt, white shorts. Stokes traditional rivals are Midlands clubs West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers whilst their local rivals are Port Vale with whom they contest the Potteries derby, the clubs first documented match was in October 1868, against an EW May XV at the Victoria Cricket Club ground. Henry Almond, the founder, was also captain. During this period they played at the Victoria Cricket Ground, however, in 1878, the club merged with Stoke Victoria Cricket Club, and became Stoke Football Club. They moved from their previous ground, Sweetings Field, to the Athletic Club ground and it was around this time that the club adopted their traditional red-and-white striped kit. In August 1885, the club turned professional, Stoke were one of the twelve founding members of the Football League when it was introduced in 1888. The club struggled in their first two seasons, 1888–89 and 1889–90, finishing bottom on both occasions, in 1890 Stoke failed to be re-elected and joined the Football Alliance, which they won and thus were re-elected to the Football League. Stoke spent the next 15 seasons in the First Division and reached the FA Cup Semi-Final in the 1898–99 season before being relegated in 1907, Stoke went bankrupt and entered non-league football until 1914, when the First World War meant the Football League was suspended for four years. During the wartime period, Stoke entered the Lancashire Primary and Secondary leagues, when football recommenced in August 1919, Stoke re-joined the league. The club became owners of the Victoria Ground in 1919 and this was followed by the construction of the Butler Street stand, which increased the overall capacity of the ground to 50,000. In 1925, Stoke-on-Trent was granted city status and this led the club to change its name to Stoke City F. C, the 1930s saw the debut of clubs most celebrated player, Stanley Matthews. Matthews, who grew up in Hanley, was an apprentice at the club and made his first appearance in March 1932, against Bury, by end of the decade, Matthews had established himself as an England international and as one of the best footballers of his generation

25.
Victoria Ground
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The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational football league ground in the Football League. The Victoria Ground had been Stoke Citys home since March 1878, the ground took its name from the nearby Victoria Hotel and was originally an oval shape, built to accommodate a running track and used by the local athletic club. There was a grass bank at each end, and a small. Opposite this stand was another bank which could hold 4,000, the ground remained this way for 30 years during which time Stoke had become members of the Football League. Stoke suffered financial difficulties and dropped out of the league in 1908, Stoke got back into the league in 1919 and the ground had now been improved considerably. There were two good sized grandstands and a wooden one which was situated opposite the main stand. The players changing rooms were set in the corner of the ground which included a stove so players could keep warm. Above the changing hut was the box, a rather primitive building. During the early 1920s a new, mainly wooden main stand was erected alongside the hut, by 1930 Stoke had added City to their name and the Boothen End was terraced and later covered, and consequently the ground lost its oval shape. 1935, when the likes of Stanley Matthews was beginning to draw in the crowds, in front of the seats was a small paddock, room for another 2,000 and it took the ground capacity to around the 45,000 mark. A record crowd of 51,380 packed into the Victoria Ground on 29 March 1937 to watch a First Division match against Arsenal, during World War II the Butler Street Stand was used as an army storage camp. Floodlights were installed at the ground in 1956 and local rivals Port Vale marked the official switching on ceremony by playing Stoke in a friendly on 10 October 1956, in 1960 another new main stand was built and the dressing rooms were revamped. In the summer of 1963 concrete was laid on the paddock terracing, more improvements continued in the 1960s and the ground remained in a good condition until January 1976. The strong winds blew a section of the roof off the Butler Street Stand leaving only the west corner intact, top priority was to put the roof back in order that the replay against Tottenham could take place on 7 January. Stoke had to play one home match against Middlesbrough at Vale Park on 17 January. The final improvements to the ground were made during the 1980s with the Stanley Matthews suite being opened as well as a new club shop, with many clubs converting to all-seater stadium due to the Taylor Report the club drew up plans to meet the requirements at the Victoria Ground. However the Club instead decided to build a new ground and so in 1997 Stoke left the Victoria Ground after 119 years for the new modern 28,000 seater Britannia Stadium, archived from the original on 28 January 2010

26.
Preston North End F.C.
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Preston North End Football Club is a professional association football club located in the Deepdale area of Preston, Lancashire. They play in the Championship, the tier of the English football league system. Prestons unbeaten League and Cup season earned them the nickname The Invincibles, Prestons most recent major trophy success was their FA Cup victory over Huddersfield Town in 1938. Many notable players have played for the club, including Tom Finney, Bill Shankly, Tommy Docherty, Alan Kelly, Sr. and Graham Alexander. On 21 January 1875, the club leased a field opposite Moor Park on the site of the current Deepdale stadium, Preston North End were famously successful during the early years of professional football in England. In 1887, Preston beat Hyde 26–0 in the First Round of the FA Cup, Preston forward Jimmy Ross scored eight goals in the match, going on to score 19 goals in the competition that season, also still a record. The clubs last major win was their FA Cup triumph in 1938. Prestons most famous player, Sir Tom Finney, played for the club between 1946 and 1960, Finney is considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time, and was also a local lad, dubbed the Preston Plumber due to his professional training as a plumber. Finney remains the top goalscorer, with 187 goals from 433 appearances. Following Finneys retirement, Preston were relegated to the Second Division in 1961 and have not played in the top division since, the club did reach the FA Cup final in 1964, but lost to West Ham United. Preston were relegated to the Third Division in the 1969–70 season, Alan Ball, Sr. John McGrath oversaw Prestons promotion back to the Third Division a year later, where they remained when John Beck took over in October 1992. The 38-year-old Beck had only recently been sacked by Cambridge United, the club almost made it two promotions in a row to reach the Premier League, but lost to Bolton Wanderers in the 2001 play-off final. Simon Grayson was appointed by the club on 18 February 2013, of Simon Graysons next 10 games, Preston won 3, drew 4 and lost 3. In Simon Graysons first summer in charge, he permanently signed 4 players, Tom Clarke, a centreback, Chris Humphrey, a winger, Kevin Davies, a Centre forward and Alex Nicholson. He also signed Declan Rudd on a long loan from Norwich City. He allowed 3 players to leave during the summer, those being Luke Foster, Chris Robertson, the 2013–14 season started off well, unbeaten in their first 9 league games. They also beat local rivals Blackpool in the League Cup, before being beaten by Lancashire rivals Burnley in the second round. The 9 league game unbeaten run came to an end on 5 October, against Peterborough United, Preston then went on another 9 game unbeaten league run, winning 5 and drawing 4, including a win against Leyton Orient, only their second league defeat of the season

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Deepdale
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The land on which the stadium stands was originally Deepdale Farm. It was leased on 21 January 1875 by the towns North End sports club and originally used for cricket and it hosted its first association football match on 5 October 1878. As football grew in popularity, it necessary to have raised areas. In the 1890s Preston built the West Paddock, which ran along the touch line, by the turn of the century, crowds were regularly over 10,000 and in 1921 they had to expand again. The Spion Kop was built and the West Paddock was extended to meet the Kop end, the pitch was removed to allow the building of the Town End, which was completed in 1928 but was destroyed by fire only five years later and had to be rebuilt. The Pavilion Stand, a small stand of two tiers holding the changing rooms and offices, was built and opened in 1934. The record league attendance for Preston North End at Deepdale is 42,684 v Arsenal in the First Division,23 April 1938, the womens team Dick, Kerrs Ladies also used to played at Deepdale, often beating mens professional teams in front of large crowds. During the 1960s and 1980s, big changes took place as roofs were placed on the stands, seating was installed, the original plans for the re-developed stadium were inspired by the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy. The regeneration of Deepdale began in 1995 when the old West Stand was demolished to make way for the new £4. 4m Sir Tom Finney Stand which includes press areas and restaurants. The next stand to be developed was the Bill Shankly Kop in 1998, followed by the Alan Kelly Town End in 2001, in 2008, a 25-metre screen was also erected on the roof of the Bill Shankly Kop. The statue, unveiled in July 2004, was inspired by a photo taken at the Chelsea versus PNE game played at Stamford Bridge, there had been a big downpour just before the kick off. The match would not have been played today because there were huge pools of water on the playing surface, I was going past a defender and the ball ran in to a pool of water. It was a photograph and it won the Sports Photograph of the Year award. The sculpture is a true likeness, Deepdale was used during the 2005 UEFA Womens Championship for three group games and a semi-final. Deepdale was the venue when the England Under-21s played Iceland in March 2011, Deepdale was used again at the end of the 2011–12 season to host two England Under-19s Elite Qualifying Round matches against Slovenia and Switzerland. Webcam showing construction of the fourth Stand

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Edgeley Park
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Edgeley Park is a football stadium in Edgeley, Stockport, England. It was initially built for rugby league club Stockport in 1901, by 1902, the rugby club was defunct and Stockport County Football Club moved in. Edgeley Park is a stadium holding 10,900 spectators. Home to Stockport County for 114 years, it was shared with Sale Sharks rugby union club between 2003 and 2012. In 2015, Stockport Council purchased the stadium for around £2 million, leasing it back to the football club, the stadium was built in 1901 for rugby league club Stockport. Stockport County moved there from Green Lane in 1902, needing to find a bigger stadium to play in following their entrance into the Football League two years earlier, Stockport Countys first game at Edgeley Park was a 1-1 draw against Gainsborough Trinity in 1902. Stockport County have undertaken an entire redevelopment of the ground since moving into the ground and this work was eventually completed by 2001. The stadiums name is often abbreviated to EP by fans. The record attendance is 27,833, when Liverpool visited Edgeley Park to play Stockport County in the 5th round of the FA Cup in 1950, the ground once held two matches by the England international football team on the same day. On 14 January 1958 the England squad were due to play training matches at nearby Maine Road, home of Manchester City, Edgeley Parks pitch was deemed playable so it was decided to hold the matches in Stockport instead. The first game saw England draw 2–2 with a Manchester City XI, Edgeley Park was the venue for the final of the 1978 World Lacrosse Championship. Chester City played a home Rumbelows Cup tie against Manchester City at Edgeley Park on 8 October 1991, Edgeley Park was the closest league football ground to the River Mersey - it is actually closer than Liverpools Anfield, Evertons Goodison Park or Tranmere Rovers Prenton Park. On 31 July 2015 Edgeley Park passed into the ownership of Stockport Council who are going to rent the back to the club on a commercial basis not costing the tax payer anything. Thus ending Brian Kennedys association with Edgeley Park, the first major development at Edgeley Park was the construction of the original Main Stand on the north side of the ground. Initially holding around 500 seats, this was a low timber structure. It was replaced a year later by the current stand, constructed of brick and steel, the roof of the Main Stand at Edgeley Park is supported towards the front by three steel columns, which slightly impede the view of supporters from certain seats. The Main Stand seats 2,020, of which 405 are executive seats and contains players changing rooms and some offices, as well as toilets, boardroom. The team dugouts are situated at the front of the Main Stand, on 23 May 2012, it was announced that Stockport County were to rename the Main Stand in honour of their late manager Danny Bergara

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Gigg Lane
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Gigg Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It was built for Bury F. C. in 1885, the first match to be played at Gigg Lane was a friendly between Bury and Wigan on 12 September 1885, which Bury won 4–3. The first league game was a 4–2 victory over Manchester City on 8 September 1894 in the 1894–95 Football League Second Division. The capacity of the ground was once 35, 000—and this capacity was reached when the crowd was achieved for Burys FA Cup third round tie against Bolton Wanderers on 9 January 1960. The game ended 1–1 and Bury lost the replay after extra time 4–2, in 1986, Gigg Lane saw its lowest ever crowd of just 461 for a Freight Rover Trophy game against Tranmere Rovers. There has never been a crowd below 1,000 although the closest to that mark came in 1984 with a crowd of 1,096 against Northampton Town. The highest all-seater attendance at Gigg Lane was recorded when Bury played local rivals Manchester City 12th Sept 1997, the ground was renamed the JD Stadium in November 2013 after Bury announced a new sponsorship deal with JD Sports. The deal was ended in July 2015, in 2016 it was announced that the club was looking to build a new 15, 000–20,000 capacity stadium in the borough of Bury. The stadiums current capacity is 11,840, the South Stand is the largest stand and it was renamed the Les Hart Stand in the summer of 2010. The Manchester Road End was home to the electronic scoreboard until 2011. A new scoreboard was placed in the south-east corner of the ground a few months later, the Cemetery End has capacity of 2,500. In September 2015 a screen was installed in the side of the Les Hart Stand. On Match-Days the club show advertisements, match highlights and the scoreline, towards the end of the 2015–16 season, a fence was constructed between the Cemetery End and the Les Hart Stand in an attempt to stop the clubs rise of hooliganism. This further separates both Home and Away supporters, Manchester United and Bolton Wanderers have hosted reserve-team matches at the ground. F. C. United of Manchester shared the ground from the 2005–06 season until 2014 and they moved into their own ground for the 2015–16 season. F. C. United set a record attendance of 6,731 when they played Brighton. A couple of teams have switched their home games to the stadium, non-league sides Rossendale United and Radcliffe Borough moved home F. A. Cup ties to Gigg Lane against Bolton Wanderers and York City respectively, in 1996, the stadium was used as the filming location for the TV film based on the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, where 96 Liverpool fans died as a result of a crush on the stadiums terraces

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Bloomfield Road
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Bloomfield Road is a 17, 338-capacity all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire, in an area known as South Shore. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F. C. since 1901, the stadium is named after the road on which the main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000, June of that year saw the demolition of the Spion Kop at the north end of the ground, an all-seated stand has now replaced it. The rebuilding of the West Stand was completed in August 2002, in March 2010, the South Stand, whose original structure was pulled down in 2003, was opened by Jimmy Armfield, the former Blackpool player for whom the stand is named. Bloomfield Road is ranked 52 in the list of English football stadiums by capacity, the record attendance at the original Bloomfield Road was 38,098, which occurred when Blackpool played Wolverhampton Wanderers on 17 September 1955. The record at the stadium is 16,116, which occurred for the visit of Manchester City on 17 October 2010. The record gate receipts for a game is £72,949. The stadium hosted three matches during the 2005 UEFA Womens Championship and it has also been the venue for the annual final of the Northern Rail Cup, a rugby league tournament, since 2005. The clubs mascot, who can be seen at home game, is Bloomfield Bear. He replaced the long-serving Cable Cat, who was retired in June 2000, before moving to Bloomfield Road, Blackpool had called two other grounds home during their short existence. Firstly, between 1896 and 1897, they played their fifteen home Football League matches at Raikes Hall Gardens, in 1897, they moved to the Athletic Grounds at the present-day Stanley Park, which hosted thirty-two League matches over two seasons. Between 8 September 1900 and 8 May 2016, Blackpool have played 2,223 Football League games at Bloomfield Road, between August 2010 and May 2011, they played nineteen Premier League games at the ground. Of these they won five, drew five and lost nine, the ground was originally known as Gambles Field, so-named for the farmer who owned the land, when South Shore F. C. played there in the Lancashire League in 1899. The first competitive game played at the ground took place on 21 October 1899, a comment at the time was, The new ground was not quite finished on Saturday and the linesman had plenty to do besides watching the game to keep the spectators from getting over the line. The grandstand was not up, but it is expected to be ready for next Saturday, a bar is going to be erected and two dressing tents. The official opening of the ground did indeed occur on 28 October 1899, when Blackpool F. C. merged with South Shore F. C. in mid-December 1899, the former club moved into the latters ground and changed the name to Bloomfield Road. Additionally, the two clubs amalgamated with the Lancashire League fixtures of Blackpool, because they were deemed easier than those of South Shore, the first game after the merger took place on 23 December. Horwich R. M. I. with only ten men in their line-up, were the visitors, the ground, at this time, had a small wooden grandstand along the western side of the pitch, which seated about three hundred spectators

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Boundary Park
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Boundary Park, known as SportsDirect. com Park for sponsorship purposes, is a sports stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It lies at the extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively. Boundary Park was originally known as the Athletic Ground when it was opened in 1896 for Oldhams first professional football club, when County folded in 1899, Pine Villa F. C. took over the ground and changed their name to Oldham Athletic. Oldham Athletic A. F. C. have played their games here since the stadium was opened. The Lookers Stand on the Broadway side was knocked down as part of a proposed redevelopment, Oldham Borough Council confirmed planning approval for the new North Stand in April 2013. This will have capacity for 2,671 spectators, plus a health and fitness suite, supporters bar, the hardcore Oldham fans are usually considered to be in the Chadderton Road End, a traditional, small, one-tiered stand. In these cases, season ticket holders have to be reallocated, the main stand has existed since the time when the stadium was originally built, and is a small two-tiered structure. Terracing disused since the conversion to an all-seater can still be seen towards the end of this stand, the stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of 13,500. It became a venue during the 1994–95 season - the season after Oldham Athletics relegation from the top flight of English football. In the early days, the stadium could hold nearly 50,000 people, the highest crowd ever recorded at Boundary Park is 47,671, for an FA Cup tie between Oldham and Sheffield Wednesday in 1930. The highest attendance for a match was also recorded during the same season against Blackpool. In 1986 the club installed an artificial pitch in order to more income for the club. Critics felt that the pitch gave the club an advantage, when the Portsmouth manager declared that Oldham couldnt play away from home, Royle stuck the article to the dressing room door and the team responded with a 4–1 victory. After 60 minutes of the game, Sheffield Wednesday were 2–0 up, by this point, West Ham were losing. In time added on, Andy Barlow went down in the box, neil Redfearn stepped up to convert it and a mass pitch invasion followed, as it had been confirmed that West Ham had lost 2–1 at home to Notts County. In gaining promotion to the top flight, Oldham Athletic were forced to have the plastic pitch removed because of league rules and they stayed in the top division for three seasons before being relegated, and after three disappointing seasons in the second tier were relegated again in 1997. They have been in the division, now called League One. Boundary Park is anecdotally known as being the coldest ground in the Football League, earning the nickname coined by Joe Royle, there were plans in the late 1990s for a move to a new 20,000 seater stadium on adjoining waste ground, but these were scrapped

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Burnden Park
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Burnden Park was the home of English football club Bolton Wanderers who played home games there between 1895 and 1997. As well as hosting the 1901 FA Cup Final replay, it was the scene in 1946 of one of the greatest disasters in English football, and the subject of an L. S. Lowry painting. Situated on Manchester Road in the Burnden area of Bolton – less than a mile from the town centre – the ground served as the home of the football team for 102 years. It also hosted the replay of the 1901 FA Cup Final, Bolton Wanderers was formed in 1874 as Christ Church FC, with the vicar as club president. After disagreements about the use of premises, the club broke away. At this time Bolton played at Pikes Lane but needed a purpose built ground to play home matches. As a result, Bolton Wanderers Football and Athletic Club, one of the 12 founder members of the Football League, became a Limited Company in 1894, land at Burnden was leased at £130 per annum and £4,000 raised to build the stadium. Burnden Park was completed in August 1895, the opening match was a benefit match against Preston and the first League match was against Everton in front of a 15,000 crowd. A section of the embankment was sold off in 1986 to make way for a new Normid superstore, the clubs directors had decided by 1992 that it would be difficult to convert Burnden Park into an all-seater stadium for a club of Boltons ambition. They were members of the new Division Two but the club wanted to build a stadium to meet requirements in the event of promotion to Division One. The last ever Wanderers game played at the ground was against Charlton Athletic in April 1997. Bolton, who were already Division One champions, defeated Charlton 4–1 after being 1–0 down at half time, whites legend John McGinlay scored the final goal shortly before Bolton received their trophy and the crowd united in singing Auld Lang Syne. It was decided to build a new multimillion-pound 25, 000-seater stadium – the Reebok Stadium –6 miles away at the Middlebrook development, the move took place in 1997, bringing an end to 102 years of football at Burnden Park. On 9 March 1946, the home was the scene of the Burnden Park disaster. 33 Bolton Wanderers fans were crushed to death, and another 400 injured, there was an estimated 85,000 strong crowd crammed in for the game, at least 15,000 over-capacity. The disaster led to Moelwyn Hughess official report, which recommended more rigorous control of crowd sizes, the railway embankment of Burnden Park was seen in the 1962 film A Kind of Loving, starring Alan Bates and June Ritchie. Part of the Arthur Askey film The Love Match was also filmed at Burnden Park in the early 1950s. A painting of Burnden Park in 1953 by L. S. Lowry, for some years, the site suffered